What Lies Beyond
by ThatWriterNextdoor
Summary: New adventures of Steven Universe and his friends, set after SU Future with new villain and new mysteries to uncover. Steven is twenty years old, he runs his own successful business in Charm City but decides to come back and spend the summer with his friends and family only for his vacation to be rudely interrupted by a new threat to all gems. (Cover by polaris huh)
1. Chapter1

Cold, soft sand under the feet. Soothing sounds of the ocean. Starless night without Moon. Darkness, darkness everywhere. Crickets weren't chirping and not even crabs bothered to come out from hiding. It was just Steven watching the thick fog rolling above the ocean in the distance.

Suddenly he snapped to attention, looking around and then on himself squinting on the striped pajamas. Hmm... sleepwalking again? What am I doing here?"He turned around and was about to shuffle back to the house but then he remembered... "Ah, that!"

Steven made another heel turn and looked up to grey heaven.

He jumped.

Flying up, and up towards the sky, Beach City getting smaller, then disappearing as he entered layers of clouds. And soon even clouds were far below. He could now see Earth's gentle curve and red beams of sunlight lining the horizon.

But he wasn't about to slow down any time soon, somehow gaining more speed instead. His eyes began to tear up. He created a bubble around himself which soon took shape of a prolonged raindrop, leaving behind a foggy line of air torn asunder and soon there was a loud crack as the sound barrier crumbled.

Gravity and friction were strong opponents, but their influence weakened with each passing minute up to the point when they gave up. Steven left Earth's exosphere with ever-increasing speed, soon passing around other celestial bodies. First Moon then Mars, Saturn, and others, eventually leaving the Solar system glittering in the distance. The bubble began to shrink and stretch and Steven soon felt the enormous pressure from all sides, but his body endured.

Under normal circumstances, he would have thought, _Wow, I'm in space! _but at this moment, Steven's mind focused only on one thing and one thing only, _FASTER!_

Andfaster he went, bending space, zooming through an endless sea of stars catching up with light itself.

His field of vision started shrinking into a small window in the distance, stars turning violet.

Then blankness, stillness, darkness, and soundlessness and a loud crash.

"What, when, where?" Steven gasped. He was lying in his bubble on some firm surface, feeling the gentle pull of gravity once more. It was dark outside the glowing bubble. But he could see silhouettes of rock formations in the distance to which any other time, he would be relieved, similar to fish that just successfully returned to the water. But he wasn't. On the contrary. His pajamas were soaked with sweat, he was trembling like never before in his life, his muscles were tense and numb at the same time. The feeling of utter dread.

He inhaled and exhaled, giving himself a slap on both cheeks, and stood up. He put his hands together, "All right Steven. Try to stay calm...

...

...

...

MAN DID I JUST JUMP INTO THE FREAKING SPACE?!"

He looked up to the sky full of glittering stars. "Yep... that's space. Well, at least I pinpointed my location... It's not on Earth eheheheh... heh..." he sighed, sitting back on the ground, " Hhh don't lose your cool Steven. If you'd managed to jump up here you can jump back... So which way to Earth?"

No response. Stars were just up there, thousands upon thousands of them, laughing at him. Any of them could be Sun.

"Well Steven," he shrugged, "guess you're doomed then. Or maybe..." he knew how it sometimes went when things got really bad.

_Three, two, one, _"Garnet?"

No response. Just dreadfull quiet of the void. But suddenly, "Garnet? I believe you've mistaken me for somebody else."

Steven jumped up in surprise, quickly turning around. There was a man standing, dressed up in what looked like a ceremonial uniform. Steven put his right hand on the bubble. "Hello?"

"Why hello there," the man adjusted his glasses and a smile shone through his short trimmed fluffy beard, "it's nice to meet you, Steven."

"You know my name?"

Stranger chuckled, "Well, you've just said it not a while ago."

"Oh." Steven looked down for a second but then he smiled back, "Yeah that sounds like me... Could you help me, please? I'm... I'm kinda lost."

The stranger tilted his head to the side, "Lost? I beg to differ. You've received my invitation, otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

"An invitation?" Steven lifted one of his eyebrows.

"Yes. That sudden urge that forced you to 'jump into space'_,_" said the Stranger, making air-quotes with his fingers, "it was quite impressive."

Steven inhaled and sighed, "All right... Would you return me back on Earth please?"

"No, I'm afraid that's not an option. Or at least not until we are done here."

A small wrinkle appeared above Steven's nose, "Look... I had a busy day. Dealing with gems and people on a daily basis is not easy. So, I need some sleep and..."

"Hold your horses," the stranger interrupted him, "there are gems on Earth?"

Steven started to frown, "Maybe. I don't know who you are or what you want. Now, would you send me back home, please? Or must I find the way myself."

"Of course, you can try, but I wouldn't recommend it. So... are there gems living on Earth?"

Steven's face finally turned red. "Listen. You can't just kidnap somebody in the middle of the night and expect them to be fine with it. If you wanna know for sure, just see for yourself."

"Now," the stranger suddenly looked disappointed, "that was just rude."

"Rude? You are rude!"

"My goodness. Me and rude? Should I remind you of a fact that it was you who crash landed here in sweaty pajamas and a pink bubble? I would have expected more of you. Proper clothing and spaceship perhaps."

"What's wrong with my bubble or my pajamas? I didn't come here willingly!"

"Now, now. I understand. You are upset because you are tired and you've _'_jumped into space', I know. But could you at least hear me out?"

"Maybe?"

"Good then. I think we should start over again." And before Steven knew it, Stranger popped the bubble with his index finger. Just like that. "Whaa?.." Steven exclaimed but the air was suddenly taken from his lungs. He fell on his knees and started to suffocate.

The man just stood there for a second, but then he leaned in and outstretched his hand forward.

Steven quickly grabbed it. Either out of panic or intending to use that karate move Pearl had taught him yesterday. But whatever of those two it was, at the moment their palms touched there was a tingling sensation running down Steven's throat and he breathed in.

Suddenly he saw a flash of light coming from under his feet. It started to spread out like a fire, revealing tall grasses, exotic flowers, ancient trees and moss carpets covering the rocky formations and trunks. A harmony of bright colors. Lovely smells and soothing wind whispers, all flooded by warm sunset rays.

Steven's jaw dropped. Unable to move, his eyes widened. He was just clutching Stranger's hand unable to let go. But he didn't have to, because what followed was a firm handshake.

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Abraham Monroe."

"Umm, Steven Universe..." that was all he managed to pull out from himself. He didn't know what was going on anymore. At first, he managed to overcome the speed of light, then he met some military officer in a vacuum and now they were in the forest? He saw some unusual stuff back in the day, but newer something like this. There was always some coherence, some explanation for the weird - even when his fingers turned into cats - but not this time. Events were just happening too randomly and too fast. And then it hit him. _I'm dreaming... I'm dreaming, yeah that's it. _The only thing missing was Dogcopter.

"You know what Steven? Let's play a game." said man who just introduced himself as Abraham.

Steven blinked. "A... game?"

"Yes, a game. Let's call it Questions and Answers. Ask me three questions - anything you like - and I must answer truthfully. After that, I will send you back home. What do you say?"

"That... sounds fair to me," Steven replied reluctantly as he was still recovering from the previous shock but then he nodded, "All right, let's play."

They both sat into the soft grass facing each other and Steven began to think, but he still kept a watchful eye on his new acquaintance.

Abraham didn't look like he wanted to hurt him. His appearance wasn't threatening or obscure now when there was a proper source of light. But there was still something off about him. Well for obvious reasons. He wasn't a gem, but despite that, he was capable of feats comparable to theirs. So who or what was he? In terms of dreams of course. Steven, he was sure he'd seen him before. His complexion was the same as Steven's and his clothes were designed on Earth, even if they appeared somewhat out of fashion. Something people might wear in colonial era. Eighteenth... nineteenth century? Connie would know. It was a blue uniform with eight golden buttons and epaulets, black shoes with buckles and white gloves. Round wire-rim glasses were sitting in the middle of his face, lined with white fluffy hair and short trimmed beard. Now when Steven thought about it, he looked just like somebody depicted on those old paintings in Beach City library. Yes definitely. His picture might be hanging right next to Buddy Buddwick or Captain Willian Dewey. But did it even matter? _This is a dream. Anything is possible! _And so Steven decided to roll with it. He will play along, not thinking much about it. Then he wakes up and forgets everything anyway.

Abraham pushed up his glasses, "So the first question is?"

"A little moment," Said Steven and continued to stare into the ground for a while longer, but then he got an idea. This was certainly a dream but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun. _How is it called? A lucid dreaming?_ He could do anything he wanted if he'd gained control. _It would be like playing in Roses room but without its limitation. But HOW to gain control?_

For now, it looked like Abraham was in control. But if he was a creation of Steven's mind did it mean Steven was in control already? His brain started cooking. _Abraham is perhaps a manifestation of my subconsciousness. Maybe I gain control when I prove to myself that this is one hundred percent a dream. But how to do that? _Suddenly a sly smirk appeared on his face. _Why with paradoxes of course._ "Am I dreaming right now?"

Abraham shrugged, "Of course you are not. This is as real as it gets."

"Yeah, sure." Steven murmured. _So that didn't work._ Maybe he should try something different. There had to be something...

"You are taking an awful lot of time. Sometimes it's good to think through your actions but time is a precious resource that shouldn't be wasted."

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry I just..."

"It's ok. Think, but think fast."

"Ugh." Abraham was getting on his nerves. Always in control but contrary to Garnet very unpleasant to deal with. Steven decided he had just enough. It was time to go on full offense.

"All right so what are you? I mean you look like a human but you are not. The things you do..."

Abraham raised one eyebrow. "What do you mean? Look at your self, you are a human and yet you can create force fields and survive in cosmos. Why couldn't I be a human, plain and simple, just like you?"

Now that was it. A chance.

"Because I'm not just plain and simple! And neither are you!" Steven exclaimed. He pulled up his shirt revealing the pink gem. "See this? Where is yours?"

The thing that called itself Abraham Monroe smiled kindly. As if this was its default expression permanently engraved into its face. Unpleasant memories of gems dominated by White Diamond resurfaced in Steven's mind. But Abraham's smile had a little twist to it.

It was honest.

"Where is my gem? Well, right here." he pointed at Steven's belly button, "And the rest is on Earth and all the other planets Gems have colonized I presume."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"We both got our answers."

"B- but..."

"I think I should thank you, Steven. Now to the other part of our bargain."

Before Steven could do anything, Abraham snapped his fingers and everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Steven woke up, springing into a sitting position. He used his hands to check his chest, cheeks, and forehead.

"Bwhhh," shivers ran down his spine, "those nightmares are getting under my skin."

It wasn't the first time he woke up from a terrible dream. This one was quite subtle in fact, compared to other ones he was getting for the last two weeks. He didn't remember the majority of things he dreamt about, aside from waking up in sweat-soaked sheets each morning. But those dreams, he remembered, were about seeing his life in a timelapse, just tidying up the messes everybody else left behind. Humans and gems alike. And when everything was finished, these messes were happening all over again. Just somewhere else and to different people. Each morning he had to remind himself, that things he was doing weren't pointless. Homeworld and the program of Homeschool were proof of that. Empire nonexistent, peace and prosperity, a new beginning for everybody. Heh even for him.

He led a decent life since he left Beach City two years ago. Traveling through all the states was real fun and he enjoyed every second of it. Met interesting people, visited interesting places and sites and tried his hand at different professions, but nothing of it felt like home. He missed the ocean breeze. After a long time, he eventually returned to the state of Delmarva and settled in Charm City. He ran a small herbalist shop there with all kinds of spices and health products. It wouldn't be hard to become a miracle healer with his healing abilities but he shunned this idea mainly for two reasons. First: Explaining to others that you are a half-alien with magical powers isn't easy. Second: Selling your own spit is bad for business.

Besides running the shop he tried teaching, gardening, music-making, baby-sitting, and who knows what else... but the legacy of his mom always got him no matter where he hid. There was always some gem or a human that needed help. Or at least a little advice. He could just ignore them. But the compassion and empathy that he inherited didn't allow that. That little pink gem was a part of him, no matter where he went, no matter if he liked it, or not. It shaped him, it defined him. That was something he couldn't change and neither forget. But it was better than before. At last, he found a balance between his human and gem life. His business was running smoothly and he made some money so he could afford to take a few days off. And because the Beach City wasn't far from Charm City, he decided to pay a visit to his family but it didn't go as smoothly as he imagined.

His dad was sick.

He learned about it a day before when he got to Beach City. Greg didn't want him to worry, so he kept it secret, hoping he will get better. But the second week was ending, and Greg wasn't getting better. On the contrary. Yesterday he started complaining about cold, even when he had three blankets on top of him and by the evening he was running a nasty case of fever. Steven tried to use his healing touch but to no effect. It brought just a temporary relief before the fever returned stronger than ever.

The doctor said it will take at least one more week of a strict diet composed of pills, water, and some more pills. No hotdogs, no pizzas, no donuts and most importantly, no more nights spent in a van.

Ever.

When Greg asked, "Why?"

The answer was fairly simple, "Your body is aging."

"Aging? Age is a state of mind doctor!"

"I appreciate your positive attitude. But-"

"But what?"

"Aging is something all people have to accept mister Universe."

_Accept. Do I get older as a half gem? _Now that was a question.

But for another time.

Steven had to get up and prepare breakfast. Not just for himself but also his sick dad. Then do some stuff in town and head out to Little Homeworld, to check things out. It was some time he saw the old gang.

He gulped up the last donut and off he went, expecting a calm ride in his car, listening to some old albums from Sadie Killer and the Suspects. But as he opened the door, he froze, one leg in the air.

Dark skies slowly rotate around the green eye of the storm. From its center, a slope of light shining down to the ocean. Everything motionless and quiet. The world around without breath. All-natural rhythms gone. The grass wasn't swaying, the wind didn't blow, the sea looked like glass.

Lightning struck. Something huge started to emerge from the hole in the sky. A giant boulder descending to the ocean. Then another and another connected by a chain of green discharges.

Steven's younger self would say something like "Holy smokes!" or "What the...?" but now he just relaxed and took a deep breath.

As expected Crystal Gems weren't far. Always present where things were about to go down: on the beach, right in front of Steven's house.

_Figures_.

Steven went downstairs and towards the gems. They were observing the paranormal show with silent ave. Except for Garnet who was missing, Lapis - unimpressed as ever - and Peridot, who was hunched over the computer, making all sorts of angry noises and grimaces.

"Hey, what's up?"

Bismuth's head turned first, "Sky's up... and it looks angry."

"Duh." Lapis snorted.

"STEVEN!" Pearl joined the commotion, much louder than usual. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly, "where have you been? I was so worried about you!"

"Umm, I was in my bed?"

Amethyst peeked around Bismuth's back, "Na-ah, you weren't. I saw you."

"Saw me when?"

"When you went outside and then stared up into the sky, it was really weird. And then you jumped really high and didn't come back. We thought you fell into the sea, so we went searching for you. It was fun... fish tried to eat me."

"Wait... wha... I don't understand. I wasn't jumping, I was sleeping."

"No, you totally weren't. You jumped and left behind this," she pointed towards a nearby crater, with sand melted on the bottom, "dude, you have some serious power in your legs."

Lapis started to Snicker, Pearl sob and Amethyst wasn't far from bursting into laughter meanwhile Steven started turning pale. But before he could justify his actions to gems and himself, his thoughts were cut off by Peridot.

"SILENCE!" She held a screwdriver in her right hand, its tip visibly shaking and her face wrinkled with anger and frustration. "I'm trying to work here, so if you don't mind, could you keep quiet for at least ten more Earth cycles? Because that's the time I need to assemble this analyzing equipment all by myself!"

Bismuth put a hand on her shoulder "Aww don't be like that Peridot. We will help you take care of Bismuth."

Lapis rolled her eyes. "You need a new catchphrase."

"All right, all right, I will think about something. But now let's get down to Bismu - ehm - business. Sorry. Force of habit. Peri, show us what needs to be done."

Peridot engaged everyone immediately. Bismuth was tasked with erecting a slope, Lapis with placing an antenna on top of it and Amethyst was supposed to measure a cable. But she shape-shifted into a crab and slipped away as soon as Peridot redirected her attention to Pearl and Steven, "...and you two I need somebody to calculate the right settings. Pearl?"

"Of course." Pearl wiped tears off her face. "Could you just give us a moment? I need to check if Steven's ok."

Steven protested: "But Pearl!"

"No buts."

"Heh, butt." A purple crab's antenna shot up from the sand right behind Peridot.

"Amethyst, get back here you CLOD!"

"Yeah well, you gotta catch me first." The eye disappeared under the sand and Amethyst started tunneling away. Pursued by Peridot of course.

"We should ban Amethyst and Peridot from watching cartoons," Steven remarked to which Pearl finally started laughing.

"You mean that cartoon where the cat chases that mouse?"

"Yeah. Look at them."

Amethyst, not knowing where she was digging, just hit the slope which to Peridot's dismay fell right on her contraptions. But instead of stopping, she picked up the broken antenna and proceeded to swing it in the direction of Amethyst's back. Lapis and Bismuth barely escaped Peridot's wrath by climbing on nearby rocks. Now they watched as two gems ran around them in circles shouting: "CLOD!" "PERYSNOT!" "CLOD!" "PERYSNOT!"

"Absolute mayhem."

Pearl sighed. "I hope Garnet returns soon. This is getting out of control."

"Don't worry, we will manage... somehow."

"We'll have to, I doubt storms on Earth spew green lightning and levitating rocks. But we can deal with that later. You are my priority right now."

"What. I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. See?" Steven turned around.

However, Pearl's worried expression didn't go away. "Steven, you are an adult but I can and will help you when I see that something's wrong. What happened last night? You can tell me."

Steven didn't want to talk about it, certainly not after he'd seen the crater. He didn't know what exactly happened. There wasn't anything he could make up so it would make sense, and so he just told Pearl what he remembered: "I had a dream. I was flying through space and I ended up stranded on some planet. It was dark and cold I recall. And there was this strange man. He said something about gems and that, thanks to me, he finally found them. Normally I would just shrug it off - you know - like a dream. But this time," he looked in the direction of the crater, "I don't know. Am I going crazy?"

Pearl giggled "Certainly not. I believe there is an explanation for everything. But going insane? No, I don't think that's the cause... I read an interesting article about sleepwalking, or in your case sleepjumping. When was the last time you had breakfast? Not counting the protein shakes."

"Um, that might be a while..."Yes, it was quite a while. Steven was hopping from job to job. He was waking up early without breakfast, then he worked the whole day and returned home late at night.

"When was the last time you slept for more than six hours?"

"Last week?"

"And when was your last stress-free day?"

"I... don't remember." Stress-free days? He thought that this kind of day went extinct once he hit his twenties.

"See?" Pearl smiled widely, "Your body lacks what it needs. That's why you can't sleep properly. Wild dreams combined with your powers... that can get you in all sorts of trouble. You've dreamed about jumping and that's what happened but after that, you've probably stumbled around Beach City for a while and then returned to bed."

"Yeah, you are right. I should probably change my lifestyle. Well, my life in general.

"You don't have to change anything, be yourself. Just allow yourself to rest."

"Ok I think I can do that," Steven replied and pointed towards the sea "but we should first take care of that thing. Is there a chance that gems left behind some weather-controlling technology?"

"I'm afraid that the most advanced thing we had is Peridot's gaming console, which was unfortunately crushed with other stuff not a while ago."

"So our best option is to wait until Garnet returns."

"Correct and it's not just the best option. It's the only one... Unless you want to march into that magical storm and find out what it is. I wouldn't recommend it."

"You don't need to tell me twice." Steven nodded and gazed towards the green rift in the sky. It looked calm and even majestic, rotating black clouds, occasional green lightning and all that. But again the same thing could be said about rivers. Calm and slow on the surface but wild and deadly under.

Thinking about that weird storm in metaphors was the only thing they could do for the time being. They had no other choice but to wait for Garnet and her future vision powers. Perhaps they could have a little picnic under the grey sky. There were no seagulls around, thieves whose favorite pastime was to steal hamburgers and fries from locals who had decided to have a little snack after sunbathe. Oh, the sun is covered by ominous clouds? Well, that's ok. No sun means no sunburns. And they have the entire beach for themselves too. Everybody else is probably covering at home. Citizens of Beach City know that seashore is a hotspot for magical shenanigans. So when something like, let's say, a giant rock pooping tornado appears in the sky, it's a good idea to stay at home and pretend that nothing is going on. That is, unless the evacuation alarm goes off. So the beach is free. Sitting there and waiting doesn't sound that bad after all.

Peridot and Amethyst meanwhile calmed down. They were now huddled together. Peridot was crying, holding tight to her precious tech and Amethyst apologizing. Lapis with Bismuth were quietly tidying the mess behind Peridot's back. The last thing she needed to see was how months of her hard work disappear in a dumpster with other "potato-grade human electronics", as she always said.

Strange thing she refused any technology imported from Homeworld. But on the other hand, she probably liked it, when people came to her asking for help. Competition is something you don't want, when you hold a monopoly for, let's say, fixing slow internet connection and doubling its speed free of charge, just because it feels so good when people thank you for it. If those primitive humans had access to Instant connection tech from Homeworld, that would screw everything up, wouldn't it?

And so they sat on their butts and waited for Garnet.


	3. Chapter 3

Thankfully they didn't wait long. Not even ten minutes had passed when small bubbles appeared on the otherwise motionless surface and Garnet shot out of the water like a dolphin. But she immediately switched from swimming mod to her acrobatic-door kicker-commando mod. And of course, she still looked good while doing it. She landed on the beach immediately taking a battle stance looking around for an enemy.

Bismuth noticed her first. "Hey, Garnet. Why are you so fuzzed up?"

"Let's call it Intuition," she said slowly while scanning the surroundings, "you never know." Then her gaze fell upon Steven. "Here you are."

"Yep, but where have you been?"

"I... got stuck."

"Stuck? That doesn't sound like you at all. What happened?"

"It's fine."

"No, I'm serious. What happened?"

"It's. Fine." she said emphasizing each word. Garnet's short responses usually conveyed information on several levels. In this case, the sentence "It's fine." would translate as: _Something went wrong but it's all right now. I don't want to tell you about it, not because I consider it unimportant, but because I care about you and I think this information could hurt you. So don't worry and don't be mad when I keep it to myself._ But Steven noticed that her pinky was twitching, and so the sentence had another layer to it, which could be interpreted as: _What I said is a coverup. Something went wrong, but I don't want to tell anyone to keep the situation under control._

They had an emergency on their hands, but Steven decided to play it cool and go along with Garnet's plans because that was usually the best thing to do. She was the one who could predict the future, after all. So Steven replied, "All right," which, in reality, meant: _Don't worry, I and others got your back, no matter what happened, or is going to happen._

"Good." _I don't know how you know, but I appreciate you stayed calm._

"Yeah" _So what are we going to do, what happens now?_

"Hmm" _I would like to tell you, but..._

"Uh, guys?" Pearl tried to gain their attention by waving her hand in an attempt to break their line of sight, "could you please stop staring at each other and tell us what's going on?"

"I don't think they are listening to you, Pearl," Bismuth remarked as she came over and crossed her arms, "they have that telepathy thing going on between them again."

Steven heard them but he kept his eyes on Garnet's visor. "Hm." _You should tell us, Garnet._

"Mhm," _You are right, sorry, _"It's not telepathy,"Garnet finally reacted to their presence,"Steven just knows how to read my body language."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Bismuth scratched her head.

"And," Garnet continued, "I also lost my ability to use future vision, that's why I was looking for Steven for so long."

Pearl was nodding to both Garnet and Bismuth, "Good... Yes..." until she overheard those certain words and her expression changed from uninterested, "... you WHAT?!" to utterly horrified.

"I said: I searched for Steven."

"No, I meant before that!"

Garnet shrugged, "I lost my powers."

At that moment several things happened at once, Bismuth's jaw dropped, Peridot froze, Amethyst's eyes widened, Pearl's face became something which could be defined only as riddled with desperation and Lapis just returned with an emptied trash bag. "Hey, Garnet.. um, what's going on with the funny faces?"

"I told them I lost my powers."

"Gosh, you can't just walk around and drop bombs like that on other people without preparing them for it."

"Sorry, can't help it."

"Ok so," Steven supported his chin, "Peridot's analyzing equipment is broken and Garnet's powers are gone for some reason. Now what?"

Lapis sighed, "For now, let's give them time to recuperate.

Despite that Lapis wasn't spending that much time among humans or even gems, she certainly knew how to be tactful when it came to sensitive matters. Perhaps it was because of her previous experiences. You can't just casually mention you were trapped in the mirror for several thousand years without disrupting the flow of conversation after all. And so she gave Garnet a few tips on how to explain what happened, without shocking her audience.

Even after the short lecture, Garnet's explanation had few hiccups. Like when she casually mentioned that she was almost shattered under the falling boulder while exploring the underwater cave, or that she found one more corrupted gem they forgot about. Interesting what you can experience when you don't know what excitement or danger awaits behind the nearest corner.

Garnet was remarkably calm about it, considering she just lost one of her vital senses. It could be even said she was enjoying it. Pearl had it the other way around. She was sweating, cursing and walking back and forth among other clueless gems.

And the reason why Garnet lost her future vision? She explained it like this: Green storm above was like a Sun, she tried to look at it and use her future vision to figure out what it is, but she looked at it for too long and her third eye was "blinded", or rather overloaded. But before that, she managed to catch a glimpse of at least three hundred thousand timelines, and all of them involved visions Garnet couldn't explain. She was sure only about three things: that all those visions were very unpleasant, that her upper limit of perception was three hundred thousand possible futures and that they were stuck. No technology and no powers. They couldn't deal with the magical storm without knowing how.

It looked like they'd reached the dead end and that it would be better if they'd go after the newly discovered corrupted gem instead. But before that decision could be made Amethyst broke the silence: "Let's throw a rock at it."

"Amethyst, this isn't the time for your foolish games." Pearl murmured.

"Aw, c'mon P," Amethyst picked up a rock from the ground and pointed her finger at it, "this is a rock."

"Uhuh..."

"Then you throw the rock," she tossed it into the water.

"Aaaand?"

Amethyst rolled her eyes, "Aaaaand then you watch what happens to it, you pebble."

"Amethyst, you are a genius!" Bismuth exclaimed.

"Nah, I just prefer simple solutions."

"It's not perfect," Garnet admitted, "but it could give us an idea of what we are dealing with."

And Peridot came alive as well, "I propose trying out more things made of different materials. Mineral, metal, plastic, something organic too.

Lapis was observing, not saying anything, but then she blinked a few times and made a heel turn, "All right, Imma get the garbage bag again."

Soon they were looking at a colorful collection of items, that Beach City residents managed to produce over the weekend. They didn't have to look further than to the Beach Citywalk Fries. Lapis earned scolding from Mr. Fryman when he caught her dumpster-diving behind his restaurant, but when she explained they needed the trash for an experiment of sorts, he let her go.

Now when they had a potential source of required materials, Peridot took command again, but it was mainly because she didn't want to shove her hands into that pile of useful but stinky stuff. Amethyst, on the other hand, had a great time.

Peridot was reading from the list she made, "Metal?"

"What about this can!" and Amethyst searched.

"Yes, that can do. Now try to find something conductive."

"Headphones. And with skulls? Now where these came from?"

"Probably from the human who calls himself Lars..."

"Finders keepers!"

"Yeah, you can keep it. We need only the wire."

"K," and with one pull Amethyst stripped the headphones of the wire.

"Mineral?"

"Rocks."

"Yeah, right and Plastic?"

"Here."

"Now we need something organic."

Amethyst emerged with a banana peel while chewing something in her mouth, "Whill this boo?"

Peridot narrowed her eyes in response, "The whole rotting banana including the microorganisms would be better but this will suffice. All right team, we have ammunition, now we need a battle strategy." She grabbed a stick lying nearby and started drawing in the sand. "The green rift of unknown origin is up there. We are down here. Somebody needs to throw the materials inside. Bismuth has the strength required to do so, but the objects lack aerodynamic properties. The one who's going to do the throwing needs to get closer but not too much. The only person here who can navigate through the air is Lapis, but she isn't strong enough to throw efficiently and the water could afflict the results of the experiment. We need somebody who is both light and strong."

Everybody looked at Steven. "Ok so... what I'm supposed to do?"

"I'm glad you are asking. Lapis will carry you up and you will throw the samples inside the anomaly. And finally, we need somebody who can tell what's happening with the samples, once they enter the area of effect. Only I-"

"Ehm!"

"-Only I and Pearl... happy?"

Pearl nodded.

"Only the two of us are knowledgeable enough to tell what's happening with the samples. However, we can't fly with you. Lapis has to stay mobile in case things go down the hill. So, we need some kind of device which could allow us to observe."

"Ronaldo's telescope," Steven pointed at the lighthouse, "he won't mind if we borrow it."

"Great thinking Steven. Once the operation 'Taking Out the Trash' concludes, we meet here again."

Amethyst arched one of her eyebrows, "Operation 'Taking Out the Trash'?"

"I felt inspired." Peridot shrugged.

Somewhere in the deepest darkest corner of the universe, something made a wet noise and after a brief while of quiet somebody shamelessly and out loud swore.

"THROW ANOTHER!"

"THAT WAS THE LAST ONE!"

"GOOD, COME BACK THEN!" Lapis and Steven landed back on the beach. "So what did we learn?" Asked Steven eagerly.

Pearl and Peridot consulted with each other for a while but then they turned to others and said, "Nothing."

"W-wha... What do you mean, nothing! Are you saying that we are back where we started?"

"No. It's just all those things we threw in," Pearl started.

But Peridot was faster, "Poof."

"What do you mean by 'poof'? Did they disintegrate?" Steven thought out loud.

"No. Even if they'd been disintegrated there would be at least something left. Smoke or at least traces of heat. But everything we threw in there just disappeared."

Steven was thinking hard. So hard his face turned red but then it finally clicked, "I think I know what we are dealing with here. It's a-" From all of a sudden, green lightning struck into the water just a few steps away from crystal gems and a loud bang was followed by a quiet, gentle but still recognizably angry voice: "Portal. It is a portal." On the place where lightning struck stood a man with a short trimmed white beard wearing a blue naval uniform and wire-rim glasses. He was holding a banana peel pinched between his thumb and index finger. "I would appreciate it if you would stop sending refuse through my portal and on my head."

Everybody just kept staring at him, and he kept staring back until Steven recovered from the shock, "YOU!"

Amethyst frowned, "Who?"

"That guy from my dream! I met him in space!"

"Um, are you sure you are ok Steven? I mean, I don't get it either, but this is something even I couldn't come up with, Even though I had a strong coffee this morning."

Garnet stepped forward, into the water and towards the mysterious stranger. "Whoever you are, I think you are lost."

The stranger tilted his head and smiled kindly. "Thank you for your concern, _young lady_, but I think it isn't necessary."

She retorted with a stone-cold face, "I'm over five thousand years old."

"That still counts as young in my book."

"So you aren't a human?"

"Oh, of course, I am."

"Excuse me," said Pearl, "but isn't it impossible for a human to live past a hundred and twenty-five years?"

"It's true." Stranger admitted.

"But in that case, you can't be a human." Pearl wondered.

Stranger gave her a slightly irritated look. "I'm a human and that's that."

Bismuth narrowed her eyes. "Then prove it."

The stranger sighed, but then he pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. The result of that was something green and slimy.

Amethyst laughed. "HAHA, Gross!"

"As you can see, I recently caught a cold. Other than that I also need to breathe, sleep and eat. Is there something more I can do to prove my humanity?"

"And here we go again," Steven growled, "who are you?"

"Patience Steven. Indeed, I wasn't entirely honest with you when we met for the first time, but now it's a different story." He threw away the banana peel and the handkerchief, cleared his throat and bowed (all that while standing knee-deep in the water), "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Abraham Monroe and I'm a nigh all-powerful cosmic being. Formerly. Now I'm a human." He added.

"Nigh all-powerful cosmic being? Formerly?" Amethyst repeated in disbelief. "Like ex-god or something?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"And your name is Abraham. Pfft seriously?"

"Oh? And what's wrong with that?"

"It doesn't fit. And that outfit, tsk, tsk, tsk. You should be wearing - like - purple cape and stuff. And the name. Something like Zorg the Conqueror would fit. And you also need a plan..."

"What plan?"

"C'mon dude, you surely must have some evil master plan. You are supposed to explain it, while you are trying to prove your superiority."

It appeared that Amethyst shook Abraham's confidence, or at least confused him. Steven was sure he caught a glimpse of a devilish smirk on her face.

The silence was Abraham's response for a while until it started getting awkward, but then he said: "Why should I call myself Zorg and wear a purple cape?"

"You know, like the villains in comic books."

Gems exchanged uncertain glances.

Abraham arched one eyebrow and grinned "Well I don't know what a 'comic book' is. But I can assure you I'm not a villain. And an evil master plan? You can cross out words 'evil' and 'master', but other than that yes, I have a plan. Everybody does."

"So, what is yours?" Garnet asked coldly.

"Well, since you are asking so nicely. This portal above our heads will in a short while extract all gems from this world. After that, they will be merged into one superstructure and devoid of their essence."

All gems froze in place except for Garnet. She leaned towards Abraham, so he could see his reflection in her visor, "Steven?"

"Yes?" his voice was shaking with anger.


	4. Chapter 4

"I suddenly feel a strong urge to punch somebody in the face really, really hard."

"Me too."

Abraham's eyes widened. "Now listen. I don't think this is the wisest deci-"BAM! he received an uppercut which sent him flying over Garnet's head. He landed somewhere far behind onlookers on the beach. Steven couldn't see where exactly due to dust that rose from the ground but he felt the impact. Surely the coolest thing he saw today - and most painful.

Steven was about to call out to him but as the dust started settling, he heard a sound which sent shivers down his spine: a long and distorted howl, " Uh, maybe you've punched him too hard?... Garnet?"

No reaction. Everybody was too shocked to respond and Steven soon understood why.

Abrahams silhouette slowly rose from the ground and in the next moment, his upper body split into a tangle of shadow tentacles that started slashing and screeching while they stumbled around on shaky legs. Once the legs managed to find balance, tentacles started merging again accompanied by angry hissing. Inky material slowly recreated Abraham's bones, muscles, skin, and clothes which soon gained original colors. Only his face remained pale for a while before it gained a healthy skin tone again.

He dusted off his uniform, adjusted the collar and glanced disapprovingly at Garnet: "Ouch..."

"GET HIM!" Garnet's signal snapped everybody back into attention. A simple one which stood for "summon your weapons, flank the designated object and beat the snot out of it".

This tactic might seem a little reckless, but in truth, it proved very effective in the past. The reaction was almost instant. No speeches, no delays, gems charged without hesitation. Everybody knew their role.

Bismuth was about to land the first blow. She hated arrogance and she couldn't wait to fix that smug grin on Abraham's face with her hammer fists. She put her entire weight into the punch but Abraham stopped it by his hand and the law of action and reaction took care of the rest. Bismuth's hammer bounced off and she stumbled a few steps backward.

Others didn't even get a chance to land a hit. Pearl and her spear got close enough but Abraham dodged her thrust by sidestepping and disappearing. The spear pierced only the dark foggy substance. He reappeared nearby just to be restrained by Lapis' water chains. He was about to teleport again, but before he did so, Peridot hit him with a smoke grenade. That disrupted his concentration and caused a violent coughing fit. Smoke also concealed Garnet, who descended upon him like a bird of prey.

Checkmate. From here on it was just a question of good cooperation.

Garnet sent him flying again, Amethyst caught him with her whip and passed him to Steven who gave him one more shove with a shield before Bismuth made comeback with an honest slap which grounded Abraham's face straight into the wet sand, "And stay down!"

"Niehehe you like that you CLOD!?" Peridot laughed and hopped around the former-nigh-all-powerful-cosmic-being.

"Not too much, but thank's for asking," Abraham replied, voice muffled by the sand.

Steven stepped forward. "Whatever you are, leave Earth alone."

Abraham grunted. It looked like he wants to get up, but he lifted his right hand instead.

There was a sudden shift in gravity. Steven, unable to support his weight, fell on one knee. Other gems had it worse. Their gemstones dropped on the ground and they were pulled with them. Garnet was struggling to lift her hands, Bismuth, Amethis, and Lapis their torsos and poor Peridot with Pearl their heads.

"I tried to be polite," continued Abraham as he stood up, "but you just had to have it your way, didn't you."

Steven couldn't take it anymore. His eyes begun to tear up, "What's polite about threatening my friends!"

Abraham suddenly looked offended, "I wasn't threatening anybody. I merely stated the facts."

"They will be extracted and their essence will be sucked out. That's what you've said!"

"It isn't accurate but yes that's pretty much it. Now, could you please calm down? The process is about to begin and I don't want any needless complications."

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!" Steven's body started to glow with blinding pink light and he slowly stood up.

Abraham was visibly struggling to keep him down. Droplets of sweat started running down his face as he was trying to contain the new threat with his kinetic powers.

"Go Steve-O!" Amethyst cheered and others joined, "Ste-ven! Ste-ven! Ste-ven!"

Abraham was losing control. More and more he was forced to concentrate all his power, just to keep Steven down. And Crystal Gems joined in the struggle. Soon they were all able to lift their heads and partially stand up.

"Amethyst! Pearl cried out.

Amethyst gave her a quick nod. She didn't need words to understand what Pearl wanted to do. She rolled over and they fused.

Opal stood up, now without any effort whatsoever, towering above everybody's heads, casting a long shadow over Abraham who looked over his shoulder in disbelief, facing a shining arrow, pointed right between his eyes, "You're toast." One wrong move and Opal would release her arrow, not mentioning the other summoned weapons pointed in the direction of the enemy.

Abraham sighed and lowered his arms. Steven felt how gravity returned to normal. Finally, he could breathe in and relax. It was over. "So what are we going to do with him?"

Garnet growled. "I suggest we lock it up in an alternate dimension."

"We can do that?" Bismuth wondered.

"I'm sure we have an artifact that can, somewhere."

"I'm afraid this solution isn't viable as for now," Peridot smiled maliciously "but I would surely love to perform some experiments before we find a better solution.

Lapis shrugged. "Hey, let's just throw that thing back into space. Ice volcano could be a good place to contain it."

With each mention of "it" and "that", Abraham's right eye slightly twitched. And when the word "thing" reached his ears, he bared his teeth, "That's enough!" With lightning speed, he grabbed the point of Opal's light arrow which detonated in into a shower of stinging particles and a multitude of smaller arrows of varying sizes. Steven barely dodged one of the bigger ones just to see it bounce off the ground and hit the Obsidian's statue. After another smaller explosion, a cranny appeared on its nose, then a crack then the nose split from the statue's face. It started falling.

Steven gasped.

The house... But, more importantly, Greg who was still lying sick inside of it.

"DAD!"

A moment of absolute helplessness. Steven couldn't do anything but watch as a huge boulder glanced from the statue's mouth and bust, mercilessly descending upon the most precious person in Steven's life.

He could feel his own heartbeat and an inexorable surge of pure sorrow building up inside his chest, bidding to his knees to give up.

It seemed like rock took forever just to torment him even more. He could see it slowly rotate, hear its rumbling laugh. And then

it stopped.

It hung in the air. As if some wizard quickly tied invisible strings to it.

Steven turned around and his gaze met with Abraham's. His left hand was missing but his right hand was extended in the direction of falling debris. He slowly lowered it and redirected the path of the boulder so it would slowly descend onto the grass in front of the house.

"Two weeks." He said curtly and disappeared in a flash of green lightning.

Rotating clouds over the sea slowly dissolved.

"Steven are you all right?" Pearl cried out and ran to Steven but she stopped in her tracks when Steven looked at her.

"Yeah." And with that, he slowly turned around and without a word stumbled towards the house. But in the doors, he stopped and glanced back at Crystal Gems for another short moment. His face was full of wrinkles. "I... just need a while..." And with that, he shut the door.


	5. Chapter 5

It hurt. A lot. It was the first time something like that happened to Opal. When Abraham made the arrow explode it first blinded her and then the pain came. Thousands of hot light needles and then miniature versions of the arrow itself. Of course that the pain, trauma, and shock caused that Amethyst and Pearl unfused.

Pearl was disoriented for a good few seconds but conscious enough to catch a glance of Steven's horrified expression and Abraham stopping the boulder. What was his reason behind that, she didn't know. It didn't matter. He was gone. What mattered was if Steven was safe. She wanted to run after him. To comfort him. But he didn't even wait for her to stand up.

He just went straight for the door, but then when he looked back, the image of his face burned into Pearl's mind like a hot iron. It was the face of an old man. It stayed there just for a moment, but her instincts kicked right in. This was wrong and she had to do something about it.

She wanted to follow him, but immediately after the first step, somebody put a hand on her shoulder.

"No."

"Garnet!" Pearl swept Garnet's hand away, "this isn't the time."

"We need to..."

"Give him time? No way!" she retorted, "Didn't you see what that THING did to him? Last time Steven looked like this, he almost died!"

Gernet replied with silence.

"Nothing more to say? Good." Pearl turned around and stormed off.

Garnet might look composed and stoic but deep down, this day, this morning, this moment, it was just all so messed up. Her lower lip started to tremble and she felt a tear running down her chin. But when she heard Amethyst's voice she gritted her teeth and quickly wiped the tear with her shoulder.

"I don't know about you, but I hate it when she gets jumpy." Amethyst murmured.

"We all have our ways of dealing with pain."

"Like keepin' your emotions at bay," Amethyst said in a deep gritty voice, "I cry only when nobody's looking... Or we can grab some lunch, ey?" This might sound a little heartless, considering the scene that just played out in front of her, but she meant well. She only tried to make Garnet smile, but she couldn't possibly imagine how close to the truth she was.

Nonetheless, Garnet agreed. When Pearl decided to act, it was better to get out of the way, especially when it involved Steven and besides, Pearl might have a point. Steven had come a long way. He became strong and independent, no longer the small boy they used to protect, but that didn't mean he couldn't use help from time to time.

Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis were meanwhile tidying up the mess. Not the ordinary mess the tourists usually left behind, but the mess that was made after a major encounter with "bad guys". Craters, places blackened by explosions, smashed rocks, stuff like that.

After the incident with Spinel's injector, Nanefua decided that enough was enough and from that day onwards, all damage caused to Beach City property, private or public, had to be repaired by those who caused it. And of course, because Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis had the most experience with reconstruction, this duty automatically fell upon them. At least it was far easier for them then it would be for others. Lapis could repair the terrain without effort, Bismuth's strength and buildings skills helped with renovation, and Peridot's know-how and robots solved the technical stuff.

This work was hard and lengthy and wouldn't mind, only if it wasn't for a certain trio of Gems who usually did the damaging part and then ran off after more exciting things to do. And also the beach was the most boring thing to repair. It had no variety to it. Just sand, rock, sand, rock, oh, there goes water, and again sand, rock. Absolute drag. Mainly for Peridot who had nothing to do, besides shuffling around and kicking dry sticks. It went so far she started considering the possibility of an automated system that would repair the beach by itself. Then they wouldn't have to be stuck here after each time Crystal Gems decide to deal with uninvited guests.

Peridot was about to start drawing her imaginary plan into the sand, but then she spotted something shiny. It glittered and sparkled, a feast for the eyes. She reached for it and picked it up.

It looked like - what was the silly human word - Glasses! Made out of ornate copper wire that was slightly bent. Lenses were fashioned from pure quartz crystal, amazingly smooth on touch. One of the two was cracked and the other one was adorned by an artful inscription on the side which spelled "Penumbra 1864".

Peridot looked right, left, right, left then back at glasses, and her eyes lit up with joy. She smiled and giggled, "Yehahaha, mine now."

"Peridot! Whaddya have there?"

Peridot jumped and quickly hid the glasses behind the back from Bismuth. "N-nothing."

"C'mon let me see."

"I-it's nothing. Definitely nothing important."

Bismuth grabbed Peridot's head, lifted her and turned her around. "Yeah, I can see 'nothing important' right in your hand."

"PUTMEDOWN!"

"Hehe, sorry."

"All right, you got me, I admit my defeat."

"It's cool. But what's that?"

"A device of Earthly origin. Humans call it 'the glasses'. They use it to enhance their vision. Like this." She put them on. "It's quite funny how... how..."

"Yeah I get it, but we should move our butts if we want to finish today... Peridot. Hey, do you hear me?" Bismuth waved her hand in front of Peridot, but she just kept staring with an open mouth.

Lapis finally noticed that something was up, "Hey, you two! I won't do it all by myself, what about a little help. Uh, what is she doing?"

"I don't know, she found some human-made goggles, then she put them on and stayed like this. Maybe she's just making fun of us, but I hope it's not the case, RIGHT?" Bismuth shouted into Peridot's face. And again, no reaction. "Huh..."

"Maybe you should've tried this," said Lapis and took the glasses off Peridot's nose.

Peridot stayed stiff for the next five seconds, but then she shivered and her hair bristled. "Bwhhhh."

"Are you all right?" Lapis asked.

"Me? After things, I just saw?'' Peridot replied with a shaky voice, "Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm absolutely, positively and by all means fine. I - I'm just going to cool my cranium in Dihydrogen Monoxide over there." She stepped into the water and fell into it headfirst. She floated for a good while before dragging her feet back to the shore, hunched over and deprived of energy. "Hhhh, I needed that."

Lapis arched an eyebrow. "Was it that terrible?"

"Don't know. But I can tell you one thing: Don't put these on." Peridot pointed at the glasses in Lapis' hand and then let her arm drop and dangle alongside her body.

"Wait a minute," said Bismuth, "may I take a closer look at them? Thank you... Hmm." She turned glasses around scanning them carefully from all angles. "Didn't Abraham have glasses when we fought him?"

"Yes, and then he lost them in the fight," Lapis added.

"Guess I was too distracted to notice..."

Peridot stepped from foot to foot: "Um... may I still have them?"

"No," Bismuth shook her head," it may be dangerous."

"B-but I found them. Amethyst got to keep the headphones!"

"Look, we'd better bubble this. We can study them later, but for now, let's just assume we found a dangerous artifact." And with that Bismuth made a bubble and send the Glasses into the temple.

Water into the face, that's what Steven needed right now. Right after he shut the door he went to the bathroom showed his head under the tap and let the ice-cold water wash away all the shock and trauma he'd experienced a moment ago. He still couldn't get the image of falling rock out of his head.

He let the water flow for what seemed like two minutes and then started getting brain freeze but the shaking in his knees still didn't want to go away. He gave up. Stopped the water and let out a heavy sigh as he looked into the mirror and his eyebrows went up. Instead of his reflection, there was someone else staring at him from the mirror. Somebody who looked like, "Uncle Andy?" Steven looked over his shoulder. But there was nobody behind him. He looked back in the mirror. Touched his forehead, nose, lips... Indeed he felt it all, this was his face. But much older. When he took a good look at it again, it wasn't in fact face of his uncle, but his own, only much, much older. Then he understood, _Shapeshifting interconnected with my feelings right. _It took all his willpower and deep concentration to return in normal, but he still had this lingering feeling like he could revert into his older self at any moment.

Steven took another few deep breaths before he mustered enough courage to go and check on his dad. If Greg saw him in this state... The racked outside must've put enough psychological pressure on him already. His son aging right in front of his eyes, that was the last thing he'd need to see right now.

Steven was surprised when he found Greg sleeping and oblivious to the drama that just took place outside. He was lying on the couch, tucked in the blankets and smiling in his sleep. He's probably dreaming about something beautiful right now. Maybe he's dreaming about his van, music or Steven, or Rose. But judging by the intensity of Greg's smile, it was about all those things at once.

Steven didn't want to wake up his dad and tear him out of the dreamland, just because of his selfish reasons, but he needed to hear his voice. He gently tapped Greg's shoulder, "Dad?"

"Mrhm, pork chops..."

"Dad."

"Yeah, we... van... Rose, put Steven in the back seat... the doctor can keep his pills."

"Dad!"

"Huh? What?"

"Just checking in. Did you have breakfast yet?"

"Breakfast? Huh... so that's what's been smelling here this good."

Steven smiled, "Yeah, I bought some donuts before I went off. Maybe they are still warm, I would eat them right now If I were you."

"Huh, sorry," Greg scratched his head nervously, "I might hate the pills and prescriptions doctor gave me, but I must admit, I haven't slept this good since - well - since I started sleeping in the van."

"Don't worry dad. Maybe you can't sleep in the van each day but I think nothing would happen if you'd did it like once or twice a month, right?"

Greg laughed. "Now don't get me wrong Schtu-ball, I like my van I really do. Buuut, maybe I could move in with you? It's spacious, warm, cozy... In the van, I had to always sleep with knees under the chin but here?" He jumped out of the couch with the blanket still wrapped around him, running around the house between the furniture, "You can sleep on a sofa - chair - table or even - in the BATHTUB," He opened the doors to the bathroom, "and in different positions too. On your back, on your stomach, curled or with your arms and legs spread apart... The possibilities are endless!"

"Hehe, sure, why not? The house is big enough for both of us. Gems spend most of the time in the temple anyway. But ehm... well."

"Oh? What's wrong Steven? Don't worry I get it if you don't want me in your personal space. I have still enough money left to build a small house or rent a flat."

"No, it's not about that. It - It's something else." Steven suddenly looked worried. Or rather, he let his actual feelings out.

Greg sat next to him on the couch. "Then tell me about it, I'm sure we can figure something out, no matter what it is."

Steven stayed silent for a while. He really didn't want to spoil his dad's day before it started, but again, he faced the same dilemma before he woke him up and then did it anyway, so why stop now.

"Dad? What happens when y - when somebody - leaves this world?"

"Huh?" Greg leaned back, "I guess you'll float because there's no gravity?"

"No. I mean, like, when somebody hurts badly. So much that they can no longer exist. Or when somebody lives for too long."

Greg's smile slowly dimmed. "You mean like, for example, when a gem is shattered?"

"Yeah, but with a human." Steven started sweating. He really shouldn't have to bring this up.

"Is it because of me?"

"No... well yes... ummm no." Steven panicked, not knowing what to say. He couldn't just run off, that would make things worse, but the same thing will happen if he stays.

"It's ok, I get it." Greg tried to calm him down. "We never really discussed this before. Everybody asks this question sooner or later in life."

"So... you aren't mad at me?"

"Why should I be? I left my mid-life crisis behind long ago. I should be mad at myself for not educating you on this matter before. You are a happy chap, so grim questions like these never bothered you much. And gems could hardly explain this concept to you. Since they are... you know... ageless." Greg shrugged.

"Ok. So. What is it like?"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah. You can't ask like that. It's more complicated then it seems y'know?"

"I get that but-"

"Hey, let's establish a few things first. Like that we start calling things their real names. This 'thing' you are referring to, is called death, and it means a lot of things to a lot of different people, so don't be afraid to use that word."

"But won't the people get uncomfortable when you just start talking like that?"

"Weeeell," Greg grinned, "as I said. A lot of different things to a lot of different people. I can give you my personal opinion on the matter, but not much besides that. I, for example, am quite fine with talking about death openly. But for most people, it's simply a taboo and they pretend that death doesn't exist."

Steven couldn't help it. He had to start thinking about his mom. "So when mom left, you weren't sad?"

Greg sighed as some old memories resurfaced. "Of course I was sad. I was busy taking care of you most of the time but then when you were asleep or when gems looked after you, those moments when I was alone, those were the worst. But I got over it and accepted the fact that death and endings, in general, are part of everything, and that they always mark a new beginning. And sadness is also part of the process. Suppressing it isn't good but too much of it isn't good either. Just think of the Blue Diamond. Man, in my life I couldn't even imagine so many tears."

Steven was listening very carefully. He didn't expect this at all. His dad sounded almost like some guru. It was a lot to take in, and if Greg dropped on him more information, his brain would start melting. "Ok, I will think about it," he said as he stood up, "I... need to think about it. I'm gonna be in my mom's room to clear my head. If you'd need me for something. Just knock."

"Ok, just don't forget to come back in time for lunch!" Greg called behind Steven as he disappeared behind the temple gate.

To Greg's surprise the front door of the house opened and Pearl ran past him, not even saying "hello". She disappeared behind the gate just as Steven did before the moment.

Was she listening to them the whole time?


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I haven't posted last week, even I should have, but I suffered a nasty case of writer's block. This is what I was able to produce during that time. It isn't much and I had to do a lot of revision so it would be even readable. But I'm gonna try to catch up with the time schedule right after I post this. **

**My goal?**

**Write 2500 words during 4 hours. English isn't my first language so this is going to be quite a challenge. **

**Wish me luck. **

Rose's, or rather, Steven's room could be a dangerous place if managed poorly. One bad thought equaled an interesting afternoon. One bad move equaled craziness. Steven, luckily, had it figured out with three rules to follow.

First: Always have a clear idea of what you want to experience.

Second: What you see isn't real, but only emulation of reality.

Third: The room has limited computing power.

Gems didn't consider installing anything like an alarm system that would warn the user in the case of overload. There was only one warning sign, glitching, and only one solution, running.

Steven once asked other gems if the system could be updated and the answer to that was fairly simple. "No." But why was that? The temple was constructed by Bismuth, yes, but the inner sanctum was created by a gem called amber.

Ambers were extremely rare gems specializing in magic and artifice and only one joined the Crystal Gems, if Steven recalled correctly. Bismuth nicknamed this particular amber Spark. A mischievous name. Well suited the mischievous gem of gleaming color.

She was sadly shattered during the last battle with Homeworld and took all secrets with her. Which included details about the table. But she also left behind all these little trinkets and forgotten artifacts, so when there was nothing to do Steven went hunting for them.

And Spark had a sense of humor. Oh, she did. Relics created by her were powerful, but always with a catch. Like that one ring that could transport the wearer anywhere they wanted, but after each third use it would pull the user through mud and upon arrival display the message "please use the public warp transport and save the environment".

Spark left a trace of her quirkiness on the temple too. Each room had its own personality. Steven's room, for example, was highly empathetic but also moody and easy to confuse. It took several misunderstandings before they finally got used to each other. Spark maybe wanted to mess with Rose. And also Amethyst. And Garnet. Stars. She actually messed with everybody. But from what Steven could tell, room and his mom became friends. The same thing now applied for him too. Or at least he thought so.

When Steven entered the room with an intention to clear his head, he wanted a small zen garden. It was his little private place where he could brood, meditate and eventually get the problems in his head sorted out, but this time, instead of a garden, he appeared in the Burning Room.

Just about everything this day went as bad as it could. Giant portals, new enemies, his dad almost dying. "What's wrong with this world!" Steven shouted "Can't I have a moment of peace?" He collapsed on the stairs leading to lava pool in the middle. Just about everything was against him, including his own body. There was a sinking feeling growing inside his stomach and his hands began shaking uncontrollably. It was long since he felt this bad.

C'mon Steven, you felt worse. He thought. Breath in. Breath out. In. And out. Keep calm. He was trying to think about nice things, just how Garnet taught him: Clear your mind, feel the good light going inside you, breathe it in. But to no avail. His mind always returned to one word.

Death.

It just kept ringing inside his skull again and again together with Greg's voice saying, "It means a lot of things to a lot of different people." If that was true, to Steven it meant the cold and absolute end. When something ended it didn't begin. It just freed up space for something else that would die as well.

Lion was running around for more than a century. Lars will probably cruise through stars even longer. But what about Greg. And what about Connie, and her parents, Sadie, Shep, Sourcream, Onion, Vidalia and, and EVERYTHING! Steven knew. His was the power to save them all, but for that, they would first have to- chills ran down his spine - what a horrible thought. Weird he hadn't thought about resurrection like that before.

This kind of deliberation had a name. People who often watch serials and read books call it "the fridge logic". You watch the show, then go grab something to drink/eat and suddenly, you realize something you haven't realized while watching. And when the realization is something scary it is called "fridge horror." Steven had his own little moment of "fridge horror" when he realized that he possessed the power to make anybody immortal by first ending their existence. However, what truly terrified him was that he even considered such an option.

He quickly decided to cast it away and never think about it again.

After a while, a voice cut through the ambient bubbling of the lava pool, "Steven? Are you here?" It was Pearl. She was fiddling her hands nervously.

"What are you doing here? I said I want to be alone."

A few quick footsteps sounded on the stone floor and eventually stopped nearby. Pearl sat down hugging her knees. "I know you want to be alone. It just seemed to me you need..."

"A shoulder to cry on? No, I don't, If that's what you mean." his head dropped, "you were listening behind the door and heard every single word. That's why you're here."

"...Yes," Pearl replied.

Steven blinked a few times, still looking down to the ground.

"B-but it was only because I wanted to help" she added quickly.

She kept staring at the wall, but then leaned to the side and towards him, looking at the sparkly bubbles. "May I tell you something about myself?"

"Go ahead."

"I think I understand."

Steven stayed quiet. Only a bubbling lava pool was heard.

"With all those things that happened during the Gem war and when Rose left I thought I should seal myself in my gem from the outer world, to cut myself from it. For good. Maybe I would do it. Maybe I would give up my form if something hadn't happened. Something miraculous. Something little that changed my entire life."

Steven's head slowly rose up.

"That little something. It was you, Steven. You were there for everybody who needed it, you were there for me, and now, I want to do the same for you."

Steven looked up. At Pearl's offered hand.

Tears sparkled in his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Movement of a body emulating music or other sounds. Dance. It is more than that. It's a physical expression of yourself. And you don't even need music. Or at least Pearl and Steven didn't need any.

They twirled and spun around the Burning Room in energic and fluent motion, cycling the bowl of liquid fire. Like Earth and Moon orbiting Sun. They were laughing from the bottoms of their hearts.

Then, tranquility.

The world around suddenly didn't matter. It was just the two of them. Or rather one, as Rainbow Quartz finished the last pirouette with a flourish of his parasol.

"What do I spy with my little eye? Oh, my! Not only do I have to tidy up Onion's room, now your heads need cleaning too? Alright. Let's see - what lil ol'me - can do about it." And with only a thought, Rainbow pushed fear and anxiety away. He left only sadness but turned it down, "Even the negative thoughts have their place in your life. Like tiny puppies. They are very important. But leave them unchecked for more than fifteen minutes and say goodbye to your shoes."Steven sometimes wondered how Rainbow managed emotions so well. But then again if you could handle Onion, you could probably handle about anything. "Now let's venture forth, because it's not just Steven and Pearl who need some sense talked into them." But as he wanted to "venture forth" something forced him to stop and do one thing he almost never did: to frown. And what was the cause of this frowning?

"What do YOU think you're doing here?"

"Browsing local inventory," Replied Abraham nonchalantly, "I'm looking for something." He was looking up at the bubbled artifacts similar to how Onion looks at a candy. All you need to do is to pick a flavor. That is if the flavors include "endless-armies-summoning candy", "planet-destroying candy" and "space-time-continuum-warping candy" or any other that could be classified as "ancient doomsday-device candy" and the temple had no problem with it whatsoever. It should have been on lockdown by now, all flashing red, sirens screaming and automatic turrets firing, but nothing was happening. On the contrary, the temple seemed quite relaxed. So right now it was just Rainbow standing between immensely powerful, presumably evil, being and an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction - with only a parasol.

What.

Smoky uses YOYOs and that doesn't stop her from kicking some butt. And besides, Rainbow's main weapon wasn't his colorful collection of powers. Or the parasol. It was his sharp tongue and wit. "A certain small item," Rainbow repeated, "and what would that be?"

Abraham's head turned, "Ah, now this is what I call an attitude. No needles shouting or a stone gauntlet to the jaw, but a well-constructed question that opens further options of resolution. I'm searching for my glasses."

Now Rainbow noticed. Abraham's face seemed somehow empty right from the start. He quickly scoped the room and it didn't take much effort to find a pair of wire-rim glasses bubbled in Bismuth's bubble. One finger snap and the glasses teleported from the confusing array of bubbles into Rainbow's palm behind his back, "Oh, you mean these?" and with a cheeky smirk he showed them to Abraham.

"Yes, these are mine. Much appreciated."

But Rainbow withdrew his hand, "Ah ah ah. Not so fast. I haven't decided yet." He started turning the glasses in his hand looking at colorful reflections. "What do you need them for?"

Abraham replied with a stone cold face, "I don't feel obliged to give you that information."

Glasses suddenly found themselves hanging above the lava pit.

"Stop!"

"I'm listening."

"Very well. These glasses are my only possession."

"So, it is sentimental?"

"Correct. May I?"

"Not yet." Rainbow didn't want to be cruel, but this was an opportunity that should be exploited. The more you know about your enemy the better. "You mentioned something about two weeks. What did you mean by that?"

Abraham let out a frustrated sigh. "More time. I decided to give you more time."

Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "For what?"

"To," he inhaled.

"Go on."

"There are some things that are better left unspoken. Do you really wish to know?"

"Do you wish to have your glasses back?"

Abraham gave Rainbow a dark look, "Very well then," and took a step closer. "your existence..."

"Oh?"

And another step, "...of all gem kind..."

"Well"

And another step, "...in two weeks..."

Rainbow bumped his back into the wall.

"...will end. Now give me back my glasses. Please." He extended his hand.

"B-but why?"

"That is none of your business."

"Ehm. T-then maybe i-i-I should just smash them-,"

"Don't. You. Dare."

"u-unless you tell me?"

"Give them back. NOW!" Abraham's voice echoed.

It took all his courage but Rainbow clenched his teeth. "No. I don't think so. You came to our planet, uninvited. Then you broke into our house. And now you're trying to scare me? Well, you know what? I can play this game too." He snapped his fingers again and the glasses came to life. They jumped from Rainbow's hand and on the floor. Abraham tried to catch them but they slipped between his fingers and ran towards the lava pool. They danced and spun around the fringe and occasionally skipped over the pit while Abraham desperately chased after them, teleporting around, trying to grab them with telekinesis and his hands. Nothing worked.

Rainbow had to grin. But from Abraham's perspective, there was nothing funny about it. He jumped and fell on the floor as he failed to capture the glasses yet again and watched in horror as they bounced off his fingertips, from the edge of the well and into the lava they went.

Hsssst.

Abraham just kept staring for a while into the place that bubbled and hissed. A stench filled the air. He rose from the ground. Or rather something which resembled him at first. It started growing. The whole room dimmed as shadows crept from the corners and wrapped around light sources. That thing that called itself Abraham was now everywhere. Rainbow could hear it whispering. Thousand voices, voicing their opinions at once. This thing. It wanted to hurt, it wanted to tear, and destroy. Its talons cut deep. Not physically but rather psychically. Rainbow suddenly found himself in the middle of nowhere. Nothing up, nothing down, nothing everywhere. The only source of light for miles away was him. Nothing else.

_Where am I?_

_Am I dead?_

_No, I don't think so._

_But this place is so creepy._

_I have to find a way out of here._

_I'm scared._

_There is no time for that. I must get out and warn the others._

_I'm scared!_

_I can get through this._

But suddenly something shifted. As if somebody took something from within and pulled it out. A set of thoughts.

_I, we, I, we…_

They unfused. Not of their own will but rather because they couldn't hold it together no more.

Then it stopped. Darkness slowly corrugated and collapsed back into a human. A human who was sitting on the stair leading to the lava pool and... weeping? No, he just had his face covered with his hands. He looked up. He sighed. Stood up. Stepped into the lava pool and submerged his hands in it, then he pulled out a lump of melted... something.

"I had about enough of you. Both of you. I knew gems are cruel. But this. This exceeded my wildest expectations."

"I-I didn't mean to." Steven stuttered.

"I thought at least you could be reasoned with. But you proved me wrong."

"Wait! It was an accident!"

No response. Abraham was gone.

They both sat in silence. Pearl and Steven. Just looking at each other. Steven blinked. Pearl blinked.

"We messed up huh?"

Steven shrugged and kept staring.

"Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this may sound odd but. Didn't you shrink?"

"Me? Pfft no." He looked down. "I did? OH MY gosh, I DID!"

Pearl came over to him and put a calming hand on his shoulder. "We can't be prepared for everything. We will find a way to help you. Don't worry."

Steven looked into her eyes. "Worry? I'm not worried about anything. Well, least not anymore."

"Huh?"

"Well, I don't know why. But… I suddenly feel… good. Great even. I. Feel. AWESOME! WOHOOO!" He jumped doing a triple somersault before landing on his hands and spinning. "See?"

"Umm." This was odd. He had emotional baggage that weighed like a ton not even a ten minutes ago and now he seemed like he had the greatest day of his life? Even as Rainbow Quartz 2.0 they didn't feel that good. Steven was still thinking about death and whatnot, but after they split he suddenly seemed like a new man. Kid. Man-kid. Whatever.

Maybe it was some defense mechanism that got triggered. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. It usually involved a lot of emotional pressure for Steven and his surroundings, but now he was almost glowing with positive energy. Like when he was little.

"Now let's go!" He grabbed Pearl and lifted her up and above his head.

"Wow, what are you doing?"

"Acting randomly but consciously at the same time. I got an idea."

"What idea?" Pearl had to duck not to hit the top of the temple door as they ran through them and the house. They whized around Greg who dropped his morning coffee on the floor. Pearl waved as they ran around but Greg was probably so shocked he didn't even notice.

"I don't know yet but it involves the glasses. There was something written on them." They ran down the stairs and he jumped up and into the clouds above Beach City looking around.

"Well… yes, but we didn't have the time to read it."

"But do you know who maybe had enough time?"

"Nope."

"Bismuth!"

"Bismuth? Well, It would make sense, the glasses were bubbled in her bubble."

"Precisely! Now hold tight!"

"Huh? WHAAAA!" Steven dived right down towards the library.

Abraham took something from him. He didn't know what but when he was fused with Pearl and Abraham decided to do - that darkness thing - it took something away which resulted in their unfusing. Whatever it was Steven now felt much better. Younger. Even though twenty years old isn't the age when you have to watch your every step due to back pains and spend most of the time in front of the TV.

Either way, he felt carefree. And deep down in his mind he maybe knew why. Fusion worked like a magnet. Positives and negatives attract each other. When one gem lacked something and the other one had it, it created stable fusion. Ruby and Sapphire were literally the walking definitions of this. Ruby: hot-headed, impulsive, emotional, fire. Sapphire: stoic, emotionaly cold (most of the time), ice.

Rainbow Quartz 2.0 wasn't stable like Garnet, but much more than Sugilite for example and today it was more than ever. Pearl had her emotions in check, she was calm and understanding, and Steven was on an emotional roller coaster right from the morning. Abraham couldn't tear them apart by fear, so he just took away what held them together: Steven's anxiety. Did he really want to get rid of the Rainbow so much he would do something so bizarre? Well at that moment it would make sense. He was furious. And when you are angry you do a lot of crazy stuff. But this all just for the pair of glasses?

There was no doubt, these glasses were the key to understanding him. When you care about something THAT much it must be important. Oh and Steven also read some mystery novels. The devil was always in the details. Was there a piece of red thread lying around? That was "the clue"! In this case, the glasses were "the clue". Or he at least thought so.

There was something written on them. Something they did not manage to read. And he was sure it was important. Bismuth sent the glasses to the temple and that surely meant she held them and had a good look before she decided to bubble them. She probably thought they were dangerous and she might be right. These glasses weren't part of Abraham's body. Trousers, jacket, boots, these were part of him, similar to clothes worn by gems, but these glasses were their own thing. But that writing on them must have been something that could send them on the right track. There was a name and a year. Eighteen hundred... something something. Abraham probably visited the Earth before and it was around the time Buddy Budvick was running around with his notebook.

They needed more details. That was where Bismuth came into play and if there was someplace where you could find the information, it would be the library named after a previously named human. Or the much more awailable internet of course. But there was just something in Steven's subconscious. He was sure he saw Abraham's face somewhere. And it was in the library.

And he could use the computer there when they were at it.


	8. Chapter 8

Library. What a mysterious place, full of wonders and secret knowledge. Eh actually, it's quite boring there. Unless you know where to look. Steven and Pearl didn't, so they quite naively tried searching on the local PC for "glasses 1800". But everything they found was a collection of pictures of antique eyewear. After this unsuccessful attempt, Steven offered himself to go and get Bismuth. Which was another pointless attempt. When it came to Bismuth, Pearl was the gem who had priority, and she let the world know that. Load and clear to be added. Everybody in the room turned their heads when she yelled, "I WILL GO, YOU STAY HERE!" Sometimes she could get a bit overzealous. It got Steven thinking. Things are looking good with those two. But they could use a little nudge. Just perhaps, he could propel the things forward. Without them knowing. Let's say.

But back to the things at hand.

Steven tried a few more searches when Pearl took off. Things like: "old glasses", "glasses worn by naval officers" and "glasses worn by creepy space dudes who want to kill your friends". It wasn't like he expected to find something useful, but one never knows, right?

Why did he even go to the library in the first place, now it seemed like a dead end. But there was still this indescribable feeling in his gut. Something deep in his memory. Something he saw that one time he visited here. But what was it? What. What. God damn it. What was it?

And then it came. A flash. Silhouette of captain leaning on the helm. But that was all. What to do with this information, he didn't know. But Connie, Connie would surely know. She always knew. Some unconventional thinking. That's what they need! And this idea wasn't far fetched either. Connie studied at university on the other side of the states but this summer she came to visit her parents. She arrived in the city not even two days ago and his house and library were usually the first two places she checked in. It would be really funny if-

"Hey, Steven! Long time no see!" Yeah. Unexpected but welcomed turn of events. Finally, somebody who could shed some light on their problems... Hopefully. But Steven didn't care. Connie was here and that was what mattered.

"Connie!" Steven almost knocked over the chair. He ran towards her, lifted her up and gave her a proper spin, a tight hug and a brief but lovable kiss.

"Ahaha, hi." She giggled and was about to say something, perhaps how much she missed him, but then she stopped and looked down instead. " Err Steven? Weren't you a bit taller last time we met?"

Steven blushed. This was embarrassing. Not in the way that men are usually taller than women, no. but because of the sudden and unexpected change.

"I-is it really that obvious?"

"You totally shrunk! What happened to you? Is this some prank?"

"No, not a prank. Not in the slightest. This basically happened ten minutes ago. It's hard to explain." Steven shrugged and put her down.

"Does it have something to do with the glowing sky this morning?"

"Well yeah. But as I said, it's hard to explain. Heh, enough about me. What about you? Gosh, we haven't seen each other for two years!"

"Steven, it was last Tuesday we talked on the phone."

"Well y-yeah but I don't know what you did since then."

"What do you think I did. I spent all day traveling and then sleeping and today I wanted to visit you but then Nana declared an emergency. Normally I would rush in and help you but you know how my mom gets when I meddle with gem stuff. She would let me go eventually but I didn't want her to worry. Besides, I figured you and gems could handle it. The sky isn't growing anymore so I believe you were successful? Ha of course you were. After lunch, I wanted to finally visit you, but I had to return some books first and then I ran into you. Lucky me! Now you. Need something to read to relax after trouble this morning?"

"Not exactly. See, this is where the problem is. I'm still, ehm - how to say it - in trouble. That's why I'm here."

"And what kind of trouble is that?"

"Gem trouble."

"Are you changing again?"

"No, no. I'm fine. It's about other gems."

"Are they giving you a hard time? I understand it must be difficult to get used to their mindset again after spending two years without them. You can talk to me if you want."

"No, it's not about that."

"Then what is it about?"

"All right. Ehm… uh… This might take a while."

"Don't worry." Connie gave him a reassuring smile and sat next to him."I have time."

"I don't even know where to start." Steven scratched behind the ear. "So first I met a mysterious guy in my dream. Captain or something like that. I woke up and didn't think much of it. I had breakfast and then I saw the rift outside. Other gems were already at it. We spent the entire morning trying to figure out what it was. In the end that mysterious guy from my dream turned out to be real. He said, 'I will extract the essence of all gems,' or something like that. So we whooped his butt. Then he, in turn, whooped our butts. Obsidian's nose broke off in that chaos and it almost crushed our house and my dad with it. But he saved both the house and dad. I have no idea why but… You know when somebody who you love almost dies, it makes you think. I needed some time alone so I ran off to the temple. Pearl followed me, of course. We ran into the 'captain guy' yet again. We got his glasses and he wanted them back. There was a fight… kinda… so we broke the glasses... He disappeared. He isn't exactly open about his motivation or origins, but he looks and behaves like a human. He even looks like one. There was something written on the glasses. Something told me we could learn more about him in the library so we went here. I'm not sure how but, him, the glasses and the library. They seem connected to me. So we ended up here. Pearl ran off to get Bismuth because she was the one who got a good look at the glasses and maybe knows what's written on them. Then you showed up aaaaand that's pretty much it."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Well, it looks like your morning was more interesting than last year of my life."

Steven looked down to his lap. "I know it sounds stupid and like I'm making it up but-"

"No, no, it's ok. I believe you." Connie reassured him. "And hey, the library wasn't a bad idea at all. Before the age of the internet, people came here to search for information just like we do on the wiki. And half the books here are written by Buddy Buddwick and if there's any human who knows something about gems - besides Ronaldo I guess - it's him."

"Yeah but that's not why I'm here. I mean. That 'captain guy' I was talking about, I'm sure I saw his face here. Somewhere in the library. But I can't remember where."

Connie supported her ching and thought for a minute, but then she said, "So, you saw his face here in the library before."

"Yeah."

"Dressed up like a captain?"

"Yes."

"Wears glasses."

"Yep."

"And isn't his name, by any coincidence, Abraham Monroe?"

"Yeah, exact- WHAT? How do you know?"

"Well, first, it's called logical thinking. Second, I always liked to sneak around the library, and third, your description of 'captain guy with glasses I saw somewhere in the library' perfectly fits the painting of Abraham Monroe that hangs in the attic."

Steven's eyes opened wide, "Our library has an attic?"

It was a magical place. All in dim shadows cast by the mountains of books. It was like entering another world. Air had a specific scent, a specific taste and a specific colour (probably because of all that dust) but there was something sad and nostalgic about this place. All those forgotten books... Oh and also the attic was a forbidden area, because most of the books available in the library were just copies, meanwhile the attic held the originals, some of which never got published. Steven felt like a little boy again. Like if he was discovering the ancient gem sites all over again. The sense of adventure, the danger. They had to steal the keys and sneak around the librarians and security guard. A task that was and wasn't easy at the same time. The gard was asleep but he had the key on his belt. Connie obviously had some experience with sneaking. All the kids with nosy parents have. Steven was astonished when Connie nicked the keys by one skillful flick of the wrist. It looked like a trick performed by a magician. Just snap and the keys were suddenly detached in one fluent motion. She then led the way through the librarian's office to the back room and up the hidden ladder and suddenly they appeared amongst dusty mountains of books and drawings. These drawings depicted everything from people to objects and some of them even gem sites but they all had Buddy's signature on them. That guy had some serious talent. Steven would like to stop and enjoy them but he had to keep up with Connie who was navigating through the books swiftly like a weasel. Steven was more like a bear so he knocked down a book now or then.

The thing they were looking for was located in the furthest corner of the attic. A large painting hanging from the beam.

When Connie pulled down the white sheet covering it Steven gasped. He recognized the person depicted on it almost instantly: Older gentlemen in blue naval uniform with white hair who was leaning on the helm of a ship. He even had the wire-rim glasses that Steven and Pearl broke and that self-avere smile. Buddy Buddwick's ornate signature was visible in the down right corner.

Steven stared at the painting but then he turned to Connie and said: "This doesn't make any sense."

"Really?" Connie frowned, "Think. We have William Dewey who was saved by 'eight-armed sea goddess' aka Obsidian, from the 'sea monster' What if I told you that Ocean City has a similar myth about pirate Abraham Monroe, who supposedly had supernatural powers. Hey, let's presume that he is a gem-

"But he is a guy!"

"Gems can shapeshift."

"Yeah. But… he is something different. Don't ask me how… I just know it. I felt it. Especially when Garnet smacked him and he regenerated all creepy like with tentacles, snapping bones and all. Besides, Garnet would know if there was another gem running around."

"She didn't know about Bismuth and Lapis."

"That was different."

"Well, Buddy Budwick surely knew about Monroe," Connie retorted, "definitely enough so he could paint him."

"But how?!" Steven's frustration was reaching new levels all over again. "How did Buddy know him? Why is he here now? Why does he want to hurt us?" Steven's voice broke. "I came home to be with my family. I want to spend the summer with my dad, my friends and you! I don't want… this!"

"It's ok Steven." Connie tried to soothe him."Everything is going to be fine."

But Steven couldn't be reasoned with, "Yeah, but it's always something. Once we deal with one crisis, another one arrives. I just want it to be over... Over!" He yelled at the painting.

You hear me?!"

Silence.

Monroe didn't move a muscle. He was just smiling.

"Yeah, just you wait," Steven growled. "I'll wipe that smirk out of your face. Just like this!" He punched the painting, fast and hard, but instead of the sound of the torn canvas, the place where the blow landed, glowed with white light and his fist disappeared, "What the..."

He wanted to pull it out but the painting held him tightly. "Um, Connie?"

Connie didn't hesitate and grabbed him by his other hand. They pulled as much as they could and managed to win half an inch back. But that was all.

As if painting had enough of this petty squabble, it sucked them both in and the surface closed behind them, revealing again the smiling Abraham Monroe leaning at the helm.


End file.
